Citizen Staff Writer

By HEIDI ROWLEY

hrowley@tucsoncitizen.com

Seventy-six retired racing greyhounds were seized by the Pima Animal Care Center last night after they were found infested with fleas and other parasites. Eleven dogs that are still racing were taken by Tucson Greyhound Park.

The dogs were reported to the Animal Cruelty Task Force at about 5 p.m. Sheriff’s Detective Mike Duffey said Animal Care investigated the complaints and found that most of the dogs needed medical attention.

A total of 100 dogs were found at the Gordon/Rippetoe Kennel, in the 3700 block of East Alvord Road, south of Drexel Road.

Only 13 dogs, found in one of three buildings, were in good condition and in an acceptable environment, sheriff’s Detective John Mawhinney II said. The other 87 had problems that included fleas, ticks, tapeworms and unsanitary living conditions.

The Humane Society’s volunteer organization, HART, assisted with the roundup of the animals.

Marsh Myers of the Humane Society said each dog will be inspected and photographed and then cared for by a Humane Society veterinarian. They will then be housed as evidence while the County Attorney’s Office reviews the case.

Once a determination is made concerning citations or the outcome of the case, the dogs probably will be put up for adoption, Myers said.

Duffey said the kennel is owned by Johnny Rippetoe. Mawhinney said the kennel’s manager, Paul Custead, who is also a trainer with the Tucson Greyhound Park in South Tucson, told investigators the kennel is a holding area for retired dogs waiting for adoption. He said investigators are working to confirm Custead’s claim. The two could not be reached last night.

He said they are also trying to contact the possible owners of the dogs, because some of them may be owned by others.

Tanya Hurley, who lives nearby, said she often walks by the kennels with her own Siberian husky. She said she has heard the greyhounds but has never seen any. She also said she has never noticed an unpleasant smell from the buildings.

All of the buildings had three or four air-conditioning units on the roof. They are set back from the road behind a wooden fence and a large, fenced-in dirt parking lot.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 12th, 2005 at 12:00 am and is filed under City/State. Tags for this post: Animal, Arizona, Heidi Rowley, page-3A, Tucson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.